Southern California -- this just in

Carmaggedon II: 405 Freeway is slowly reopening to traffic

September 30, 2012 | 9:09
pm

The process of reopening the 405 Freeway -- ending Carmageddon II -- is underway, and the freeway should be fully open by 11 p.m.

On-ramps and roadways were begin to reopen at 8:45 p.m., several hours earlier than scheduled. Northbound lanes will open first, followed by southbound lanes. The entire process should take about three hours.

The freeway closure began Friday night and had officials worried about the
potential for massive gridlock throughout the region. It was supposed to
last until 5 a.m. Monday; now the freeway probably will finish reopening much earlier.

There was a similar freeway closure, also dubbed Carmageddon, in July of last year. That freeway closure also ended much
earlier than originally expected.

California Highway Patrol officers cited seven people on the 405
Freeway on Sunday morning, including a group of rollerbladers and
a pair of newlyweds who wanted to celebrate on the closed roadway.

Officer Rick Quintero said the first citation was issued about 3 a.m., when a
pedestrian tried to enter the northbound lanes of the
freeway at Sunset Boulevard.

About 40 minutes later at the same spot,
two people were cited for trying to get on the southbound lanes of
the freeway. The couple were "recently married and wanted to celebrate on
the freeway," Quintero said.

"Their wedding gift was a citation," he said.

The final round came about 6 a.m., when officers discovered four
rollerbladers exiting the freeway near the Getty Center, Quintero said.